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Category: Vacation Activties

With some extra time off this past week, my family and I decided that we wanted to “take advantage of our natural resources” and experience a mini-vacation here at home (aka Deep Creek Lake). Our first evening, we decided to take it easy and just enjoy dinner and a movie. We chose to eat at Uno’s Chicago Grill as it is one of our favorite lakefront dining options (come by boat or car!). There is something relaxing about dining out of the deck as you watch everyone playing on the lawn and in the lake. After a fabulous meal, we headed over to Garrett 8 Cinemas. While I can’t say too much for the actual movie we watched, we did embrace the comfort of the AC. The next day, it was time for some adventure. The boys and I packed our lunch and headed to the lake to spend some fun time in the water! Cannonballs, competitive dining, floating lazily on our rafts, I didn’t think I could ever convince my crew to leave. We did have a wonderful afternoon though. The lake can be so refreshing! Our next stop was to swing by the Lakeside Creamery for some ice cream cones! Made on the premises with all fresh ingredients, it is clearly easy to see why this is favorite destination of visitors and locals! Yum! Exhausted but content we left and headed home. Our shenanigans continued throughout the next few days where we attempted to cram as much fun as possible into our time off. Look for Part II where you will find out who conquered mini-golf, who tried to cheat @ mini-golf, and how we took some breathtaking pictures of the McHenry Cove as we rode the scenic chairlift at Wisp Resort.

Full Moon!

In the meantime, summer days are sailing by so now is the time to call and reserve your vacation rental home. Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations (1-866-351-1119; www.deepcreekvacations.com) has many homes to choose from and our staff is always more than willing to assist you in finding the perfect home to fit your family and friends. In the meantime, we can’t wait to see you at the lake!

Summer has officially arrived here at Deep Creek Lake and so far, we are being rewarded with some truly amazing weather. Bright blue skies appear to dance around a background of lush green mountains. Add in the sparkling blue waters of the lake and you will quickly see why summer is such a popular time to visit the area. One of the most frequently asked questions we receive from a potential guest is “What will we do to entertain the kids?” While there are numerous answers to this question, one of my favorite and most reliable answers is “Go to Wisp Resort”. Kids will love the Wisp Resort Adventure Park where there are an abundance of fun activities for kids of all ages. For the smaller kids, 4 & up, they may want to check out the Chipmunk Challenge Course which tests their athletic prowess while creating a fun and educational environment. Various obstacle courses and zip lines create the perfect amount of challenge combined with excitement and fun. The newly added Squirrel’s Den is a cool new playground that showcases various slides, swings, and a swaying bridge. Afterwards let them wind down with some gem mining where they will sluice and sift through gems. They then take them to the assay station to learn about the gems they have mined. Older kids may enjoy riding around and taking a Segway tour or flying down the Wisp Mountain on the unique Mountain Coaster (you can control the speed so if you are a wimp like me, you can take full advantage of the brakes!) Add in laser games, mountain biking, and disc golf and you and your guests will find that you simply don’t have enough time to do it all in one day! Now, you may ask, “What will the adults do?” While they too can enjoy most of these activities, they may enjoy spending the afternoon on the prestigious Wisp Golf Course or relax with a day at Sewickley Spa where they enjoy a day of complete indulgence.I highly recommend that you check out Wisp online (www.wispresort.comor give them a call 301-387-4000) for more details on what wonderful activities they offer!

First day of Summer @ Deep Creek Lake!

Summer homes are going very quickly so call Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations today to reserve yours (www.deepcreekvacations.comor 1-866-351-1119). We can’t wait to see you at the lake!

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations celebrated Thanksgiving a day early with a company feast held at our main office. Rita provided the main course with a big old 22 lb. turkey. Other goodies were mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, fresh homemade rolls, and tons more. Oh, desserts! Did I mention that there were lots and lots of yummy deserts! My coworkers can really cook! I am beginning to think that after this weekend, that membership to Deep Creek Fitness that I mentioned previously is now inevitable. Well worth it though, I must say!

This Monday you will most definitely want to check out our website for our Cyber Monday Sale! Lots of great savings will be going on all day. If you are looking for a fun last minute getaway in November, we are not only offering a lot of last minute discounts but are waiving the 6% county tax as well. Call to speak to one of our Reservationists on how to take advantage of this deal (1-866-351-1119) or look us up online @ www.deepcreekvacations.com. Mark your calendars and check it out!

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations’ owners and employees would like to take this opportunity to wish all of renters, guests, homeowners, and neighboring businesses a very heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful for the chance to work with you. Enjoy your time with family and friends, eat lots of turkey with all of the trimmings, and give thanks. Have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving!

Mountain life is treating us well here in Garrett County these days. Leaves are beginning to change just in time for the much anticipated Autumn Glory Festival that is being held the 2nd weekend of October. It’s a wonderful festival that includes craft & car shows, a German “Oom Pah” festival, a Grand Feature Parade, band playoffs, the list is endless. A definite “must check out” event. Don’t forget to call us @ Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations (1-866-351-1119) or look us up online @ www.deepcreekvacations.com to get some great deals on last minute reservations!

We have decided to try something a little different on our blog this month. Each month we will introduce you to a featured employee. Many of our renters have been staying with us for many years and we here at the Reservationist Department have the pleasure of getting to know them and see them when they visit. We thought it would be nice for our renters to get know the rest of our Taylor-Made Family, those that play an intricate part of our company but work more “behind the scene” so to speak.

This month, we would like to introduce you to Gary Paugh, one of our hardworking Maintenance Technicians. Gary has been with our company for the past two and half years and resides in nearby Terra Alta, West Virginia. Garywas recently named our “Hungry Games” winner (Grand Prize was 32 inch flat screen tv!! Lucky!!) . This game was designed to acknowledge employees for their stellar customer service skills whether this is a compliment from a guest or for work awarded for going above and beyond. We frequently hear from our renters that “Gary, came right out to help us. He was very polite and very helpful”. It’s no surprise to us that Gary came through as victor! We are also pleased to say that Gary is an Army Veteran having served our country for 23 years! In his spare time (which we sometimes allow him to have…) he likes to spend time hunting, fishing, and playing basketball (he also rocks at Corn Hole!!) This past year he took classes in Atlantic City and became a certified hot tub technician as well. He plans to stay with Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations for many years to come! So, this month, we give a big shout out to Gary!! You have a great sense of humor, you are always a pleasure to work with, and you do a phenomenal job. If you happen to see Gary while you are out and about, be sure to say Hello!

Mountain memories are waiting to be made! We can’t wait to see you at the lake!

Funland. Even the name is fun to say. Funland, a family fun center located in McHenry, has been around for as long as I can remember. Open during the warmer months, it is the perfect place for the family to enjoy of bevy of activities. We usually pack the kids in the car and enjoy a full day of fun. I tend to get a little competitive so we generally start with a game of mini-putt putt on their 18 hole miniature golf course. Obstacles include everything from swinging windmills, bridges, and even a rock waterfall. After I have successfully won, we usually head into the arcade. While my boys are fans of the racing car/ motorcycle games, I am more of an old school skee ball girl myself. Other fun activities include the large climbing wall, go karts, bumper cars, and the carousel. You can take a break somewhere in between and go to Deep Creek Pizza located next door. They have awesome pizza, wedgies, and don’t forget the Hershey’s hand dipped ice cream! Can you say “Yum”? It’s definitely a cool place for kids and adults alike! Stop by and check them out the next time you are in the area.

The feeling of Fall is definitely upon us as the temperatures are dropping and the leaves are already beginning to change. We are still running some fabulous specials so now is the time to call the Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations office (www.deepcreekvacations.com) and speak to one of our reservationist about our “Stay 3 nights for the price of 2” deal! (1-866-351-1119) Now that the lake has calmed down, it would the perfect time to rent a boat from one of our local marinas. Take a relaxing ride around the lake and check out the exquisite scenery our area offers. If you don’t want to rent a boat, High Mountain Sports (www.highmountainsports.com) and Wisp Resort (www.wispresort.com) offer guided boat tours. Also, don’t forget that next month is our annual Autumn Glory festival, which features Octoberfest, the German festival known as “Oom Pah” and a grand feature parade that was named by MSN as one of the top fall festival’s in the world. A definite “must go” event. Call today to reserve your vacation home and mark your calendar for this exciting event. In the meantime, we can’t wait to see you at the lake!

Life at the lake is beginning to calm down now that the Labor Day holiday has passed but it’s still a great time to get away for some little R & R. While there is still an abundance of activities going on in the area, now is the time to just visit and enjoy the area and scenery. Hints of leaves changing and the night time air begins to cool, perfect for gathering around an outdoor fire pit. For those, who have a love of history, Garrett County is an interesting study. As you enter our area, you will have the pleasure of driving through the small town of Accident. This is Town USA exemplified. While it is wonderfully decorated with some great shops, it is also the sight of the historical, Drane House.

Tucked away on a quiet country lane, just off of Rt. 219 in Accident, is the site of the historical Drane House.The Drane House is a key landmark in the early history of Western Maryland and a vital part of its heritage.In fact, it is believed to be the oldest standing structure in Garrett County today.

The Drane house was built in 1798 by William Lamar and was given to his sister and her husband, Priscilla and James Drane in about 1800.The Dranes and their eight children migrated to Western Maryland from the tobacco farming area of Prince George’s County.James envisioned himself a country gentlemen, raising a large acreage of tobacco with the aid of slave labor.Frontier life required long hours of arduous work to provide the basic necessities of life.Their family was one of several who attempted tobacco culture in Garrett County’s early days.These early settlers from Southern Maryland and the Piedmont Plateau never achieved the prosperity from tobacco farming that they anticipated.Expecting rapid development, they did not realize the difficulties of farming mountainous terrain. Their efforts were ultimately thwarted by the combination of severe winters, poorly constructed dirt roads and the great distance to market.While many were driven back to their former homes by the loneliness and isolation of mountain life, the Dranes changed their methods to general faming and occupied the home until their deaths.

Over the years, the Drane House had a variety of owners and occupants.In 1952, it became vacant and fell into a state of overall disrepair.It was officially into the National Register of Historical Places in 1985, and shortly thereafter a group of concerned citizens formed the Accident Cultural and Historical Society in order to explore options for the deteriorating home.The town purchased the property and was able to begin restoration through a series of grants.Architectural and archeological experts were called upon to reconstruct and preserve the landmark home.The Drane House is additionally significant because of its architecture, representing a highly unusual combination of the log and frame construction techniques.They carefully dismantled the building one log a time, then reassembled it with old and new logs.Taking years to complete, the massive restoration project was finished in 1994.

Today, the site is open daily to be viewed from the exterior and open for tours of the interior by appointment.The inside is furnished with period furniture, some of which actually belonged to the Drane family.Significant for its architecture and its association with the early settlement of Garrett County, the Drane House is a window into pioneer life on the mountaintop.For more information or to schedule a tour please call the Accident Town Hall (301) 746-6346.

It is definitely worth the visit. Afterwards, stop and visit some of our local friends. Firefly Farms has a wonderful variety of cheeses and wines. Mountain Flour Baking Co. can cure any sweet tooth and Annie’s Country Kitchen offers amazing “comfort food”.

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations are still taking last minute reservations for this weekend for the Annual Art & Wine festival held here in McHenry. Call today for more details and let us help you find your perfect vacation home.In the meantime, we can’t wait to see you at the lake!

The Labor Day holiday is among us and the staff @ Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations has been busy trying to help our guests visit us by offering some outstanding last minute deals! There are a lot of fun activities going on this weekend including the annual Labor Day sales offered at Wisp, Rudy’s, and High Mountain Sports. If you are looking for some great deals on snowboards, canoes, kayaks, mountain bikes, ski equipment, you name it, then you definitely want to stop by one or all of these shops!

A great big, heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who came out last Friday to visit us for our Grand Opening! It was awesome to see so many of our homeowners, renters, and supporters from the community. Also, a shout out to Sante Fe Grille, Brenda’s Pizzeria, Dutch’s, Pinelodge, Trader’s Coffee House, DC’s Bar & Restaurant, & Sorellee’s for the spectacular food spread. I’m not sure who that red head was that kept making frequent trips by the stuffed mushroom caps but someone should really consider explaining the whole “gluttony is wrong” concept. The evening was a huge success and again, we really appreciate the support.

Don’t forget that next weekend, (September 7th– 9th) is the annual Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival, held at the Garrett County Fairgrounds. This is a phenomenal event that is fun for the whole family and benefits the American Red Cross. Tickets can be purchased for a mere $25. This allows you into the festival all day and covers the cost of the entry, wine tasting, and a commemorative wine glass. A bevy of activities will be going on throughout the day. Local artists and food partisans will be peddling their ware. This is an awesome change to check out their art work, from jewelry to oil paintings, wood carvings, and more. You will also be able to purchase some specialty food items from some of our local food vendors. The wine shop will open until 7 pm as well. The kids will enjoy face painting, balloon art, air brush tattoos, carriage rides, a moon bounce & much more. Don’t forget the live music that can be enjoyed throughout the day. When you call to book your home, don’t forget to ask your Reservationist for some additional information on the Art & Wine packages that we offer that hook you up with. For a small fee of $45 per person, you can get not only the entire ticket to the festival but also a $25 gift certificate towards the wine pairing at one of the local participating restaurants on Friday evening. This truly is a festival worth checking out and it goes towards a wonderful charity.

Until next time, when we begin to embrace the notion of the Autumn season (my favorite time of year… leaves changing, Autumn Glory, and let’s not forget Football Season! Go Steelers!) we can’t wait to see you at the lake!

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations’ staff and owners took advantage of the beautiful weather on Thursday to go on a guided kayak tour of Savage River Reservoir. First, I must say that as far as being a local, I’m rather disappointed in myself that I have never checked out the reservoir before. What a phenomenal sight! The water, nestled between large plush mountains and trees, is possibly one of the most breathtaking natural sights in our area. We met up with Crede Calhoun from All Earth Eco Tours (www.allearthecotours.com) down at reservoir. After several moments of instructions on how to correctly handle the paddle, Crede had us all in our kayaks and ready to head out for a day of adventure. I started off rather wobbly and definitely could foresee a comical ending but after a few minutes, I began to get the hang of it. While out on our water excursion, Crede began to point out a bald eagle’s nest high in the trees and sure enough, before we knew it, we got to see several eagles soaring high above the mountains. Eventually, we stopped and had a tasty snack while Crede began to explain how the guided tours run. Perfect for families or fun group activities, most tours last approximately 4 hours and include a break for lunch. Offering several different kinds of kayaks, the two seated kayak can comfortably fit an adult and a smaller child. If you are looking for a whole new experience, one that includes enjoying the great outdoors while taking in some amazing scenery, then I highly recommend you check out Crede’s website. He also offers a bevy of great activities throughout the seasons. Crede, from all of us here at Taylor-Made, thank you for once again, hosting an awesome tour. We had a wonderful time and can’t wait to tell all of our family, friends, and guests to come and see you! In the meantime, Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacationsstill has some homes available for your summer stay so call us today (1-866-351-1119 or look us up online www.deepcreekvacations.com)to find the perfect vacation home for you and your family. We can’t wait to see you at the lake

A little bit of chaos combined with a definite sense of excitement is one way to describe life at the new Taylor-Made Deep Creek office. Yes, I did say new!!! This week we made the big bold move and moved into our new building located at 35 Town Center Way. If you are at all familiar with our area, then this would, in fact, be that absolutely fabulous big log building adjacent from Market Square! Now, granted, my perspective is a little big askew but I find it impressiveand rewarding to work for a company that just a mere 4 years ago started with a single property and has now grown to over 130 vacation rental homes and 40 + property service homes. Back in 2008, Jodi, Joe, and Chad grabbed a hold of the opportunity to begin their own vacation rental company, thus, Taylor-Made. Jodi and Chad grew up essentially raised into the business and learned all of the traits from 2 of the leading vacation industry pioneers, their parents, Zack and Linda Taylor. Joe, of course, has been well known in the area for his business smarts and nothing says “Customer Service” like working and owning your own restaurant. Together the three decided to combine their knowledge and it has certainly paid off. Now, to the outside business world, they may know that Jodi is a whiz when it comes to working numbers, Chad is guru when it comes to all things computer, and Joe is exceptionally bright when it comes to all things in the maintenance department. As employees, we get to see the more in depth side of these complex personalities. For instance, when Jodi gets excited she does an extremely clumsy dance that is entertaining on many levels, Chad often tries to persuade us to have “English Accent Day” and Joe has a passion for singing along with musical Christmas decorations. These traits are among the many that make them the endearing employers that they are. They have created a company environment that is fun and exciting but allows each employee to finish each day with a feeling of pride and accomplishment. That being said, we would like to say Thank You to Jodi, Joe, and Chad. Congratulations on all of your hard work and for this new big step for the company! It’s going to be an exciting year! In the meantime, we can’t wait to see you at the lake!

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations happily welcomed back a large number of our staff and owners from their recent networking/ training seminar that they attended at the the Outer Banks in South Carolina. Thank you to Doug Brindley and staff from Brindley Beach for graciously hosting our group for their stay. Although I had to stay behind and maintain the fort, I was informed that team building skills were a big focu and successfully implemented, breathtaking sunsets ere photographed and witnessed, good food and drink were enjoyed by many, and a great deal of fun was had by all! All in all, a very successful trip!

Garrett County weather continues to amaze and thrill both locals and visitors! Perfect mountain weather! We are offering some great last minute deals for the Easter weekend. Besides that, there is a bevy of fun activities going on in the area this weekend. CARC (Garrett Community College Aquatic & Recreation Complex) is hosting its first Easter egg hunt and community swim on April 7th. The egg hunt is open to children ages 2-12 and will be @ 12 Noon, rain or shine! The pool will then stay open to the public from 12-2:30 for a mere $5 for non-members. Also held on Saturday April 7th, is the natural egg dying that is held annually at the Deep Creek Discovery Center. Kids bring their own eggs and learn how to use dye made of beets, onions, anc chlorophyll. I also have the inside skinny on the possibility of the Easter Bunny stopping by so you definitely don’t want to miss out! Wisp Resort will once again be hosting a sunrise service held on top of the mountain on Sunday April8th. Chairlift #1 will begin to transport to the mountaintop @ 6 am. A continental breakfast will be held in Wisp Resort’s main lodge followingthe service. Stick around with the kids for an Easter egg hunt @ 11 am followed by a scavenger hunt @ 12 noon. Location will be announced closer to the event. Lots of fun and games going on up here in the mountains! We are starting to see a trickle of activity on the lake these days as well. Fisherman are out bright and early taking advantage of the calm waters, boat docks are beginning to be put in, and kayak and canoes are brightly adorning the water in bright hues of red and yellow. Aww! Spring! Call Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations today @ 1-866-351-119 or look us up on the web http://www.deepcreekvacations.com/ to begin planning your next relaxing Deep Creek Lake getaway. Our Reservation Team is available 9-9 daily to not only help you find your dream vacation rental but to help you create a memorable, fun experience as well. Until later this week when we explore the world of the stinky onion, Aka The Ramp, we can’t wait to see you at the lake!